NoName
by J-Rocker Girl
Summary: Hiei wanders through Makai and finds an intersting situation in Fire Youkai territory. i hate summaries...i promise it's more interesting than i make it sound
1. Default Chapter

Nominal  
  
Disclaimer: don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. That's Togashi's job.  
  
(AN: may be a one shot...maybe not...don't know. Let me know what you think)  
  
Hiei was free of the Urameshi team and was now free to wander Makai as he pleased once again. Those ningen were good allies, but he would rather be roaming deserts in the land that he had deemed home.  
  
Kurama was also a great ally and friend, but he had found more distractions in Ningenkai. Why he associated with humans so much, Hiei would never know.  
  
His hair blew in the hot winds that spread across the red-sanded desert. A small part of him said the weather was too hot. Heh, so he still had a little ice youkai blood in his veins?  
  
Yukina...Yukina had stayed behind with the ningen, too. He had finally told her that he was her brother that she was searching for. That was his only parting gift.  
  
The red sand that had decided to start a storm indicated that he was now in fire youkai territory.  
  
Hiei darted through the whirlwind of sand, easily dodging debris and the occasional snake or lizard.  
  
After the rotating winds had died down, there something in the air. It wasn't right at all. It wasn't a fire youkai, and it was far stronger than him. What was it?  
  
As the sand subsided, there stood a figure dressed in white robes about twenty yards ahead of him. The mysterious intruder wasn't looking at him, though. He was looked the opposite direction. What was he looking at?  
  
'Who are you?' a voice asked in his head.  
  
'What's it to you?'  
  
'You're a fire youkai, no?'  
  
He finally felt what the stranger was looking at. Apparently, this man had trespassed on this voice's property. From what the energy felt like, the man's opponent had launched an attack. That explained the sand storm.  
  
'Mostly.'  
  
The telepathic voice stopped for a moment. 'Close enough.' This voice was unlike any he had ever communicated with before. It was like the wind, he could tell whether it was male or female. There was one more thing he noticed about the energy form, though.  
  
'Is that Jagan Eye natural?' he asked.  
  
'That depends. If you're willing to help drive this monstrosity away, it is. But if you refuse, it is your death.'  
  
'Could be interesting. How are your summoning skills?'  
  
The man in white robes raised a hand and directed an enormous sphere of what felt like pure reiki at his opponent, who effectively reflected. 'Darkness Flame material. I can even summon monsters. You?'  
  
'Darkness Flame will do.'  
  
'Dragon?'  
  
'You catch on fast. Slightly impressive.'  
  
Instead of hearing a telepathic voice, the voice itself said, "Don't get cocky. You haven't been fighting this idiot. He may be stupid, but he's strong." Definitely female.  
  
"What's so special about him?"  
  
"He operates fully on an aura. He's deaf and blind. Even had his vocal chords ripped out. He doesn't know you're here, though. He's completely concentrated on this fight. He calls himself Death. Hence his white robes."  
  
(AN: white is the Japanese color of death)  
  
'I'm ready when you are,' Hiei sent her.  
  
'You get the attack ready and I'll transfer some reiki. One thing before you start though.'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Be creative,' was the last thing she said before white bolts of lightning formed at Death's hands and started crackling in the sky.  
  
As the currents of electricity raged through the environment, spurts of fire countered their every move.  
  
Now was the perfect time.  
  
His blood rushed as he hiked his reiki up as high as he could get it. Black fire surrounded everything, and ran in his veins with the blood.  
  
'Now!' he sent as the dragon coursed through his right arm.  
  
Instead of receiving the reiki directly from the youkai herself, she gave him her own dragon. Even better!  
  
Hiei sent the two beasts of Hades at Death as lightning and fire met in the sky. Be creative. Interesting. He directed the attacks around the fire and lightning, making the elements one with the dragons.  
  
Death stumbled backwards and finally faced Hiei. 'Kisama!' rang through his head as the dragons engulfed the white-robed Death and transformed him into black sand to go with the red.  
  
"It's ironic," Hiei said, walking the forty yards of desert to meet the other fire youkai.  
  
"What might that be?" she asked. Now that he could see her, she was about his height, had long, straight black hair, and two vermilion red eyes. Her Jagan Eye, though was black for an iris and red where the white should be.  
  
"He called me kisama. Truth is, I AM a bastard child," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Hm," she said as the wind picked up and waved her red fighting robes. "Bastard and mostly fire youkai, ne? Hiei."  
  
He smirked as he covered the rest of the distance. She could prove to be a useful ally. VERY useful.  
  
"Correct," he said, tilting his head. "What might be your name?"  
  
Instead of answering, she threw her head back and let out a loud cackle. "Until you can find and defeat me, my name is Nanashi!" she said as a giant falcon rose from a seal with the Kanji for flames planted in the middle.  
  
She shook her head as she mounted the gargantuan bird. "I look forward to it, brother!" she called as the bird flew off and disappeared. Before she had taken off, Hiei noticed something...there had been something in her hand.  
  
He felt around his neck and found...an empty string. She had taken his tear gem.  
  
So, until he could defeat her, her name was No-Name. Perfect.  
  
(AN: hm. Hiei got challenged. Okay, I think I actually have a fic going here! Alright! Don't forget to review!!  
  
Or I'll set chibi Black Dragon on you, pathetic ningen!!  
  
Hiei, be nice to the readers!  
  
Fine! Review or I'll set everything I have on you!!  
  
Let me rephrase. Don't threaten them.  
  
It's not a threat! It's a promise!!  
  
**sigh** ignore my muse...just review, onegai^^;; ) 


	2. Roses

Roses  
  
(AN: chapter 2!! Yay!! Just to think...this was a----  
  
Stupid idea that you thought up in the middle of the night?  
  
Actually...that's exactly it  
  
You just HAD to pick me for your favorite character on that idiotic show, didn't you?  
  
Hey, what can I say? ...I don't know what to say...You're cool!  
  
Um...thanks... So, I'm here to face ridicule on my own?  
  
Nope, in this chapter, you get to have a friend to share the humiliation with. Heh, you can probably already figure out who it is, though...  
  
You're not even going to try and hide who it is? It's completely obvious  
  
Oh, come on! People would figure out who it was whether I made it blatantly obvious or not, Hiei  
  
Heh, who would read this and enjoy it, anyway?  
  
Otaku Sailor V!! Bunni-Chan? Did you change your name again? Hi!! Now you know what I do with my time while I'm trying to think of things to do with my other fics, no? And, yes, Beth, Hiei's been bumped up from bishie to muse  
  
Otaku...Sailor...V? what kind of a name is that?  
  
Hey! She's cool leave her alone!  
  
Okay, whatever. Let the humiliation begin, let's get it over with.)  
  
'Hiei...' another unidentified voice in the youkai's head rang. Was it Nanashi?  
  
'Hiei...turn around...' This voice was a lot more cheerful than Nanashi's, but for some reason he couldn't place it, so it had to be her. He had traced Nanashi's aura for a about a week now and had wandered into a glacial area. Just blizzards and dying trees for miles. She was taunting him and he was not one to be taunted.  
  
"Nanashi—!"he started to say but stopped himself when he turned around. "Kurama? Ningenkai got boring, no?"  
  
His red-haired friend gave him a friendly smile. "I told you I'd visit...Besides, Yusuke's fun to pick on, but his punches are really starting to hurt, ha, ha!" Kurama blinked worriedly. "Hiei, your face is showing emotion like you're in a battle or something. What's the matter?"  
  
"Heh," he said with a small smirk. "Long story."  
  
Winds picked up on a glacier, spreading blizzards through the rest of the icy plains. A giant falcon landed in the snow and a woman jumped off. Her seal appeared over the bird and it flew into the circle. "Good, you need rest," she said as the seal disappeared.  
  
She heard something under her feet and looked down at the snow. She let out a small laugh as the rest of the snow melted and the ground was left dry around her feet. "Is this how ice youkai let intruders know they're on their territory, now?" she asked aloud.  
  
"Actually," a new voice said, coming up. "That's how we alienate fire youkai."  
  
"That's not alienation, that's laughable."  
  
Nanashi turned to see a pale ice youkai a few inches shorter than her. "And you might be...?"  
  
The young demon bowed. "Shouka, pleasure to meet you."  
  
Nanashi gave her a mocking bow. "Nanashi."  
  
"I hope you have a name."  
  
"One has to defeat me for my real name."  
  
"Hm, I don't think I'm developed enough to fight a Class A yet...I can tell you're expecting a battle with someone. Need some help? An informant? Some form of alliance?"  
  
"Heh," Nanashi scoffed. "You can come along, but if you interfere with the battle...nothing personal, but I'd have to kill you."  
  
"Understood. Who are you going to fight?"  
  
The fire youkai took out Hiei's tear gem. "Hiei. I suppose, in this case, one we can both call brother...?"  
  
Shouka laughed. "I suppose. You don't mind if I interfere BEFORE the battle, do you, Nanashi-San?"  
  
"I don't mind, just remember, he's a Class A, too. And he has a Class A with him."  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"He has a companion. The only thing I can tell from him is that he's a kitsune. Or at least a reincarnation."  
  
"Ah...interesting..." the ice youkai said in thought.  
  
"Someone took your tear gem?!" Kurama nearly shouted.  
  
Hiei sighed. "That's what ran through my mind when she disappeared."  
  
"And you're not out of your mind in rage?"  
  
"This is all just a test. She's just leading me around. Very irritating, yes, but worried, no."  
  
"A complete stranger has your most prized possession and you're not angry?" Kurama asked with a small grin.  
  
"Heh. It is A prized possession, but this is my MOST prized," he concluded, raising his right arm. "If you haven't noticed in all of our friendship, I value fighting value much more than sentimental value."  
  
"Hah, hah, true, true."  
  
"Besides, I can feel it. And as long as I feel that's in one piece, I have nothing to worry about."  
  
Kurama nodded. "Ano...you said she was a fire youkai, right?" he asked.  
  
Hiei nodded. "Why ask?"  
  
"Because there's an ice youkai standing right behind you."  
  
He turned around with a quirked eyebrow. Sure enough, there was an ice youkai. "This is ice youkai territory, Kurama," he said, turning back to his friend. "That's not much of a surprise...I thought you knew something about fire youkai that I didn't."  
  
"Well, if anything, you should know more about that than I do..."  
  
Suddenly, the ice apparition walked up and smiled. "You're the one that's chasing Nanashi-San?"  
  
Hiei half-turned his head. She really WASN'T giving out her name... "And you are..."  
  
"Shouka, at your service," she said with a smile.  
  
"Does she have anything to say?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Usually cowards have something to say when they send lackeys..."  
  
"No, no...I'm just here to inform myself before the battle. Besides, you don't expect you to have a companion when she's just a loner, do you?"  
  
"Are you sure you don't have a death wish?"  
  
"Hey, hey! I'm about to go...but...do you have anything to say before I go? It could finish this chasing around before it gets too annoying."  
  
Hiei turned the rest of the way around. "Actually, yes I do," he said as flames encircled his sword.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm gone!" Shouka said, waving her arms and darting back into the dying forest.  
  
"Underlings..." he muttered, darting into the woods, Kurama close behind.  
  
Nanashi looked up in surprise. Too close. Much too close. She quickly summoned a seal and teleported through it, leaving it open.  
  
Hiei growled as he saw Nanashi, then let the feelings of anger fade as she escaped. Wait, she left the portal open. He sprinted ahead of Shouka and rushed over to the portal, but once he stood in the middle of it, the seal turned black instead of its original red and the ground stayed solid.  
  
Shouka rushed as fast as she could towards where she had last seen Nanashi. Unfortunately, Hiei was standing in that exact spot. She noticed a black circle on the dry ground. She left a portal open? Maybe if it wasn't working for Hiei, hopefully it would work for her. And if it didn't...hey, maybe the afterlife wouldn't be too bad...  
  
She tried her luck and leapt next to Hiei, but still in the circle, fortunately, the black of the seal turned red where she had landed and let her through.  
  
"Let me get this straight," Kurama said, walking up as the seal faded from the ground. "She can summon beasts...including Black Dragon, she can transfer Black Dragon, she has a natural Jagan Eye...and now she can teleport? Hiei, my friend, you've got your work cut out for you."  
  
Hiei gave Kurama a very flat look. "She's headed west."  
  
(AN: That's it...?  
  
Kurama? What are you doing in my closing author's note? You're not one of my muses...  
  
Honestly...I have no clue. Oh well. What's going to happen in the next chapter?  
  
Hey, I don't even give my official muses TOO many spoilers.  
  
That's depressing...I think I'm going to cry...  
  
Don't cry...unspoiledrini would kill me if I made you cry.  
  
Alright. But just for the sake of saving lives.  
  
Okay...do you know how hard it is to get into your character?  
  
I...hope it wouldn't be too hard...  
  
Right...sorry, Minna-San, I would have updated yesterday, but I went prom dress and manga shopping. And they were both really successful Gomen ne...) 


	3. Lost Chances

Lost Chances  
  
(AN: That doesn't sound too good.  
  
Gee, Hiei, you're common sense overwhelms me...  
  
Oh, shut up...  
  
Hey! I'm the author! That's my line!  
  
Whatever...just let the idiocy ensue...  
  
Heh, that's what I say every time I go to Chemistry class... I hate science...  
  
Isn't that mostly "common sense"?  
  
Maybe if you give a flip about it, it could be...  
  
Eh...)  
  
(ANPS: I noticed some people might not know Hiei's whole background from the unedited non-Toonami **gags** Japanese version. (sorry, Toonami annoys me) Okay, here it goes. Hiei and Yukina's mom was an ice youkai. Ice youkai are a complete race of women. They make exact copies of themselves and don't need men to multiply. Don't ask me how that works, I don't know. Well...Hiei's mom fell in love with a fire youkai and ended up pregnant with Hiei, so to cover that up, she...somehow...made herself pregnant with Yukina, thus making Hiei and Yukina twins. Don't remember which was born first. That's it, Cartoon Network editing is horrible and said they had different mothers. Not. The only difference is Hiei had a dad. Freaky, no? Ergo, Hiei is MOSTLY Fire youkai, maybe a little ice...That's why Nanashi calls him brother every now and then  
  
By the way, this chapter may end up being stupider than the other two because of a certain character. Just thought I'd let you know. AND oi...OtakuSailorV-Chan, I know that's you, I was talking to somebody else ^_^ and yes, go Hiei-muse! (Ice Bunny) Is Shouka your OC? I don't know. What does Shouka mean? I don't know. What to call me? If you really want to get my attention, call me Bobbie. Or if it's easier to type out Bob. I don't care really. I hope Hiei's history helped everyone with the brother problem, back to the story)  
  
Hiei and Kurama finally walked out of the glacier's plains onto a never-ending plain of rocks. "She's here," Kurama said, looking around. "Never mind. She moved again. I think she's having fun."  
  
"I don't care how much fun she's having, she won't get away..."  
  
Kurama looked to his friend and smiled. "You thought she would be a useful ally, didn't you?"  
  
Hiei turned his gaze back to the rocky range. "Perhaps." He turned his head in surprise as a fist ran towards his face. On instinct, he dodged and slammed his own fist into his opponent's stomach.  
  
For some reason, Kurama started laughing.  
  
"Nice one, Hiei!" a familiar voice said.  
  
He looked up to see the familiar face that went with it. "What are you doing here, human?" he asked, straightening up  
  
Yusuke gave his partner a goofy smile. "Kurama."  
  
"Kurama," Hiei said, not bothering to turn around. "You have an unbearably big mouth."  
  
"So some chick snitched your tear gem, huh?"  
  
"Yusuke, you make it sound as if she stepped on his foot," Kurama said nervously.  
  
"Heh, heh, okay I came to help."  
  
"You didn't bring that moron, did you?" Hiei asked.  
  
"Nah, Kuwabara said Makai would give him nightmares."  
  
"You're just trying to cover the fact that he wanted to spend time with Yukina."  
  
"Uh...that too..."  
  
"What about Keiko?"  
  
"Heh, she told me I should help...Say, Hiei, did this girl look something like that?" Yusuke asked, turning around, pointing to a very angry Nanashi.  
  
Why was SHE angry? If anything, Hiei was the only one with a right to be angry.  
  
"Until you realize whose fight this is, I'll keep leading you by the nose!" she growled.  
  
"I didn't ask them to come along!"  
  
"Truly, Miss...Nanashi..." Kurama said making up for the stumble of words with a graceful bow. "We're merely spectators."  
  
"Yeah, we're just here for mortal support!"  
  
"MORAL support, Yusuke..." Kurama said rolling his eyes.  
  
"Your thoughts say otherwise," Nanashi said, stopping their conversation.  
  
"'Nother telepath, huh, Hiei?"  
  
Hiei turned to his two companions. "I said you could come along, but this is my fight."  
  
All three fighters turned back to Nanashi as a seal appeared under her feet. "I'll see you at home...brother!" she said the last word as an insult as she disappeared through the portal.  
  
Hiei turned back to Kurama and Yusuke. "You can come as far as the battlefield."  
  
"Where's the battlefield?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"There's a volcano in the middle of the desert," Hiei explained. "It's something like a fire youkai capital. The volcano is only reserved for fights."  
  
"So we have to cover the glacier again, then find our way to the middle of the desert," Kurama concluded with a pensive tone.  
  
"Cool!" Yusuke shouted, throwing a fist into the air. "We're bound to find something to do between now and then!"  
  
Yukina walked through the frozen forests of her home when she noticed something strange. There were dry spots on the ground after the latest blizzard. It looked somewhat like a trail, but stopped when it came to a certain point in the forest. There must have been a fire youkai around here lately.  
  
"Yukina!" a friendly voice hailed her. She looked in the direction the voice was coming from.  
  
"Yusuke-San?"  
  
"Hey! How's it going?" he asked walking up with Kurama and Hiei. "Man, it's cold..."  
  
"I told you to prepare for anything, Yusuke," Kurama said shaking his head.  
  
"Onii-San, what's the matter?" Yukina asked Hiei.  
  
Hiei looked to his sister. She at least deserved the truth this time. "Someone stole my tear gem and I'm going to get it back."  
  
Yukina nodded. "Good luck, Onii-San," she said with a smile. "I know you'll get it back."  
  
"That's where the battle will be?" Shouka asked, looking up a tall volcano.  
  
Nanashi nodded.  
  
"How will the battle be regulated?"  
  
"It used to be the fight would end when the volcano next erupted, but lately, that rule cost too many lives, and it's been timed. There's an overseer and everything, but I don't think this fight will take that long," the fire youkai explained. "It's been dormant lately."  
  
"But you and Hiei-San seemed like a pretty even match..."  
  
"Like I said, the volcano hasn't erupted for a while."  
  
"How long are matches since the new rules came?"  
  
"I think the longest has been three days."  
  
"Why would it cost too many lives if only two people are fighting?"  
  
"Take a closer look at the foot of the volcano," Nanashi said, pointing to the tall mountain as two opponents fought their ways across.  
  
"Ouch, big crowd of spectators. I get your point...what do we do now?"  
  
Nanashi let out a small laugh. "We try to stay in one piece until Hiei comes."  
  
Shouka looked at her surroundings and let out another laugh. "No alienation?"  
  
Her companion gave her a smirk. "You don't need to know by your surroundings that you don't belong here..."  
  
The ice youkai looked around a little nervously.  
  
"Don't worry, though. If anyone tries to rough you up I'll tell them you're traveling with me."  
  
"What if that doesn't work?"  
  
Nanashi shrugged. "Then I'll rough them up."  
  
Shouka shrugged too. "Who's moderating?"  
  
"Usually a friend of one of the opponents. Most-likely Hiei's kitsune friend."  
  
"Why not me?"  
  
"I hardly know you...The only reason I let you come this far is because if you hadn't teleported, Hiei would have killed you."  
  
"Heh, heh, yes, and I'm very grateful...When do you think Hiei will get here?"  
  
"Depends on how fast he and his friend can sprint."  
  
(AN: Hey, cool, I get to spit!  
  
Sprint, Yusuke, sprint.  
  
You mean like Forrest Gump, Kurama?  
  
No, that's "Run, Forrest, run".  
  
Say, where's the author?  
  
Again...honestly, I have no clue  
  
Hey! We get to mess around in her closing author's note!  
  
I don't know if that's a good idea...  
  
Eh? Why?  
  
Her two pennames are after two of her original characters. One's a youkai.  
  
The other one?  
  
She's not as strong as the other, but she's very wise and has a faster mouth than you.  
  
Hm, cool. What's gonna happen in the next chapter?  
  
She didn't tell me...  
  
Why?  
  
Cause she's mean like that...  
  
Hm...a volcano as a battlefield...sounds like they should have fun, being fire demons and everything.  
  
Hopefully it will stay dormant during the battle...  
  
Not after what you just told me about the author.  
  
Kami-Sama...) 


	4. Define Regulations

Define Regulations  
  
(AN: Define Regulations? What the...?  
  
It'll make sense once you get to Nanashi's point of view.  
  
Okay...when are you going to have another battle scene for crying out loud?  
  
Oh yeah, Hiei, you were shouting so loud, my ears are bleeding...  
  
What?  
  
Oh, battle scene...? I'm working on it...  
  
Hey, does Nanashi have any relations that I could torture-dash-drain information out of?  
  
Probably not...  
  
What about her lackey?  
  
Shouka? You wouldn't hurt one of your----nevermind.)  
  
(ANPS: fair warning, I've just watched 7 ½ hours of non-stop comedy. First, "Sense and Sensibility" which was every comedy Shakespeare wrote, but with different characters and someone else wrote it, then "The Cat in the Hat" do I really have to comment?? Then the remainder of "Finding Nemo", I've seen it three times already! Then "Wallace and Grommit" If I see one more comedy I'm gonna puke. Sorry if the battle scene (not Hiei vs. Nanashi yet, sorry) is a tad bit gory  
  
Also, thanks for the reviews. I've never been called brilliant before. Umm...took a look at your stuff I'll read a few when I have time. Most likely Tuesday. Bunni-Chan, would you like Shouka to have a pairing? Umm...heh, heh...Kurama's the only option...but...he's not that bad...And...you're probably right about Hiei's history. It's been about one or two years since I've actually done any YYH research. That was just to try and get the point across that Hiei's both fire and ice. Yeah.)  
  
"Say, Hiei," Yusuke said as he and his two companions traveled as fast as they could through ice youkai territory. "What IS it about this girl?"  
  
"What are you babbling about now, human?" Hiei asked with a slightly confused face.  
  
"I think you like her..." the human said with a stupid grin.  
  
"I think you're insane..." the youkai responded, turning his attention back to the path.  
  
"Yusuke has a point, Hiei," Kurama interjected  
  
"I thought at least YOU would realize that's impossible, Kurama..."  
  
"Well, if you had stayed in that one place for ten minutes, you could have waited for her to realize you weren't going anywhere, and she would most likely come back, give you the tear gem, and leave."  
  
"Your point is...?"  
  
"She's gained your respect, but you have yet to gain hers. Why do you think you're chasing her just for a battle?"  
  
"That's it. It's a battle. Nothing more."  
  
"How cute, he's in denial," Yusuke said with a mocking emotional face.  
  
"Go back to Ningenkai until you can think of something intelligent to say, baka. Maybe if you and your less-than-halfwit friend could merge together and make half a brain..." He turned again to the path and started to see the beginnings of a desert.  
  
"Alright! Something other than snow!!" Yusuke announced, throwing a fist into the air.  
  
"Thank you, Captain Obvious..." Kurama said with a laugh.  
  
"You want to schedule a fight?" a very effeminate fire youkai asked. He took out a notepad and a pen and started scribbling  
  
"If it's not too much," Nanashi said with an eye roll. Fops were okay, but fops that decided to wear pink kimonos and speak in pseudo- womanly had something wrong with them.  
  
"Oh," he said, bringing a fan to his face. "My name is Hitsujiko, I'm the coroner and fight manager on the battlefield. When would you like your battle, ma'am?"  
  
"As soon as possible."  
  
"Do you have a moderator?"  
  
"He's on his way, as is my opponent. If he, for some reason or another, doesn't make it, the ice youkai is the moderator."  
  
Shouka peeked from behind Nanashi and waved.  
  
"Your opponent?"  
  
"Class A."  
  
"You?"  
  
"Class A..."  
  
Hitsujiko blinked and added that to the paper. "Best attacks?"  
  
Nanashi gave him a smirk.  
  
He nodded. "Well, after this fight is over----" He was cut off as a lizard-like demon crashed through a side wall and landed on the floor with an unnatural thud.  
  
Shouka cringed as blood pooled around the mangled, smoking corpse.  
  
Hitsujiko waved his fan as the crowd at the foot of the mountain cheered for the victor.  
  
"To claim the next fight you must—"  
  
He was cut off again as a fireball shot from Nanashi's hand and crashed on the volcano, searing her seal on the side.  
  
"Leave your name or seal...I suppose I didn't have to explain half of that to a native, did I?" He glanced at the charred and bloody mess of the last loser. "You and your companion may wait for your opponent and moderator on the volcano. I have business to tend to."  
  
"Thank you, Hitsujiko-San," Shouka said with a bow as Nanashi walked out.  
  
When Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke finally got to the border into the desert, they were met with a delay or three...  
  
"Where do you think you three are going?" one delay asked.  
  
"Yeah, what's a kitsune and a fire youkai doin' in ice youkai territory?" another went on.  
  
"And what's a human doing in Makai?" the third finished.  
  
"We're on our way to a battle on the volcano, gentlemen," Kurama explained.  
  
"Yeah!" Yusuke added. "So get out of our way before we decide to have fun!"  
  
"Ogres..." Hiei muttered.  
  
"Still haven't answered, shorty," the first said to Hiei.  
  
"You," Hiei said with a flat stare, taking out his sword. "I don't have time for."  
  
"Who do you think you're talking to?!" the ogre demanded, sending a quick swipe at Hiei. The smaller demon dodged, going straight for the neck and sent his sword crashing threw the ogre's scales, skin, muscles, then the sword finally hit bone, piercing the giant the rest of the way through.  
  
One of the others ran forward, screaming for revenge, but before he could land a hand on Hiei, Kurama wrapped his rose whip around the beast's arm with one graceful strike. The ogre stopped and yanked at the weapon, but, unfortunately for him, this cause the weapon to do its job, and its fallen limb landed to the ground with a thud.  
  
The monster lunged at Kurama, forgetting about Hiei. But, the kitsune jumped out of the way and finished the thug off with a whip around the neck.  
  
The third ran for both, now knowing somewhat of what they could do, thinking he could possibly do better than his fallen comrades. Unfortunately for this one, he was a little...stupid.  
  
"Hey, baka!" Yusuke shouted. "Forget a stick, who beat you with the ugly orchard?!"  
  
Now that he considered Yusuke his opponent, he turned from his two fallen comrades and launched an attack on Yusuke.  
  
The spirit detective leaped out of the way right before the idiot struck home. The ogre looked around confused, trying to find him again.  
  
"Hey, ugly! Up here!!" the giant looked right above his head. How'd he get there?!  
  
Before his opponent could make a move, Yusuke shot his reigun, leaving the ogre a smoldering pile of ash. "Alright!" Yusuke said, landing on the ground. "Let's go!!"  
  
"He's in the desert," Nanashi said as she and Shouka sat on the volcano.  
  
"If Kurama-San is the moderator, where do I go?"  
  
"He's traveling with a human."  
  
"That won't do anything but get us both killed!"  
  
"Have you heard of the Rekai spirit detectives?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"The boy's name is Urameshi."  
  
"Oh, him! I've heard of him! But...he doesn't know me...And the crowd looked pretty vicious while the other fight was going on..."  
  
"Don't worry, he's very...friendly, and you're not that hard to befriend," Nanashi said with an eye roll and a head shake.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?!"  
  
"Was it me or do you usually walk up to strangers that obviously don't belong and ask them if they'd like an ally for battle?"  
  
"Heh...I wanted to get off the glacier for a while, and you were the first out-going person I had seen in a while..."  
  
"So it was just the fact that I was leaving?"  
  
"Heh, heh, hai..."  
  
(AN: Na, na, naaa, na...na, na, naaa na....hey, hey, hey...goooodbye...  
  
Yusuke, I didn't know you watched Kingdom Hospital...  
  
Oh, yeah! Awesome show!  
  
You have good taste, my friend! Stephen King rocks!!  
  
Yeah, I like the guy that's conscious but....somehow not.  
  
Definitely, the monster he talks to is cool.  
  
So is that guy that talks to the dog!  
  
What do you think of the psychic lady? I don't like her.  
  
Neither do I, she reminds me of Genkai cause she's an old psychic, but, you have to agree...Genkai's a lot cooler!  
  
Exactamente!!  
  
...What?  
  
Exactly...  
  
Oh! Say, you're a lot cooler than Kurama made you out to be.  
  
Domo, domo. You and Kurama are in a tie for my second favorite characters.  
  
Really? Cool! But...I'm the main character...  
  
Not in this fic....  
  
Oh well...  
  
You're a lot more agreeable than my other muses...  
  
And surprisingly...you're a lot more easy to agree with than a lot of the people I know...  
  
Hm, you know what?  
  
What?  
  
This AN is getting too long.  
  
Yup, end author's note.) 


	5. On the Top of KazeYama

On Top of Spaghetti, All Covered in Cheese...  
  
~*NOT!! Sorry, in weird humor today, couldn't resist One of my favorite songs*~  
  
On Top of Kaze-Yama  
  
(AN: sorry for the weird name for the volcano, there. It was the first thing I could think of that wasn't volcano or active volcano, that would just be redundant.  
  
You need to catch up on your Japanese.  
  
Eh. Spanish and Italian is enough for right now. Hey, there's a flash mob in town tomorrow.  
  
Really? What...the heck is a flash mob?  
  
A huge group of people doing something completely and utterly random in a public place for three minutes.  
  
What's the situation in this case?  
  
Tinseltown, tomorrow from 6:55 to 6:58. people will be throwing Mardi Gras beads at each other back and forth.  
  
That's just stupid.  
  
Yes, but I would go just to watch onlookers' reactions. And possibly take pictures when the security came and hauled the people doing it off...just for blackmail.  
  
Evil, I like it...  
  
Hey, you agreed with me, Hiei! I'm either surprised or shocked, haven't decided yet.  
  
Hm, human emotions are just a waste of time to try and figure out.  
  
And I thought Yusuke was one for stating the obvious...  
  
Just get on with the chapter....)  
  
(ANPS: You're from the South, too? Cool. I'm from what I like to call the not-so-deep south. Heh, heh, I'm from northwest Louisiana. It may sound like the deep south, but I stand out in New Orleans, lemme tell ya! I love that city, but only for its graveyards! Don't mind me, I'm weird. Anyways, don't worry, the baka is nowhere near entering the story. I wouldn't put that red-haired monkey in here if Yukina paid me to. And don't never let no one tell ya "ain't" ain't a word! It IS in the dictionary, after all...  
  
"Onii" means brother...hm...Ah, yes, Bunni-Chan, I will do something with All of my fics that up as soon as I'm...graduated and have everything going at a steady pace...fanart? I'll post something when I have something I feel is worth posting, kay? ^_^)  
  
"How close is Hiei-Sama?" Hitsujiko asked, getting a little annoyed.  
  
"He should be here late tonight at the rate he's going," Nanashi answered.  
  
The coroner/fight manager concentrated on the three auras he was sensing in the desert. "There's a human, a kitsune, and I'm taking it that the other is Hiei?"  
  
Nanashi nodded.  
  
"I know I shouldn't be getting into personal businesses of fighters, but why are you two fighting? You two seem like a pretty even match."  
  
"That's what I said!" Shouka piped up.  
  
"If you boil it down, it's nothing but a test, really," Nanashi said, taking out a comb. "If it comes out the way I want it to...it should be profitable for both of us." She started running the comb through her long black hair.  
  
"And if it doesn't?" Hitsujiko asked.  
  
Nanashi glanced to the other fire youkai and started braiding her hair. "Then you'll have some business to tend to with Jaganshi-San."  
  
The man waved himself with his fan and gave Nanashi a smirk. "I seriously don't see what you see in a man like him...but I can tell you see something."  
  
"Would you mind translating that?"  
  
"I have a strong feeling that if I did have any business with Jaganshi-San, it wouldn't be because of you ." With that he walked off.  
  
"Ooo..." Shouka chimed in after he was out of ear-shot. "Someone's going soft..." she added with a grin  
  
Nanashi looked at her ironic companion. "You've been out in the sun for too long, Shouka."  
  
"Hey, you really ARE going soft! You just called me by my name!"  
  
Her flat stare turned into a slightly confused one. "Isn't that what I SHOULD do with a companion?"  
  
Shouka sat in thought for that one. Come to think of it...that was the first time she called her anything...  
  
"How close are we, Hiei?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"You asked that five minutes ago..." Hiei answered. "And Kurama already told you his estimate as to when we should get there."  
  
"You mean we're just going to keep running until after dark?!"  
  
"It looks that way...Hiei doesn't show any sign of slowing down," Kurama explained.  
  
Yusuke shrugged. "At least I brought water."  
  
"You mean you actually listened to at least half of what I said?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Just a slight surprise after the glacier incident. I thought you were going to forget to bring water and die of thirst in the desert if you didn't bring a coat to a glacier..."  
  
"Come on Kurama, I've died twice, once more isn't gonna kill me!"  
  
"Ningen, if you don't mind, I'm trying to concentrate," Hiei interjected.  
  
"She didn't move, did she?" Kurama asked.  
  
"No, but if you and the moron keep babbling, I'll lose the track I do have on her! She's hard to pick out of so many other fire youkai, and every time the human opens his mouth, I keep confusing her with a drag queen!"  
  
"Yup, that ought to throw you off every now and then."  
  
Shouka yawned and leaned back on the side of the volcano. "The sun's starting to set," she said. She looked down at the crowd. "Ew...it doesn't look too good down there..."  
  
"What are the insects doing now?" Nanashi asked.  
  
"What's left of them are shouting and throwing attacks at the volcano. It's a good thing Hitsujiko-San set up that shield," she said as a ball of lightning roared up in front of them and was blocked of the force field.  
  
"They'll have to get over it...It's not my fault Hiei's slower than he lets on to be."  
  
"Actually, I think Kurama-San is slowing him down by the way they're running. Maybe the human, too, I can't tell."  
  
"Hah!" Nanashi said, looking to Shouka. "Look who's talking! If it wasn't for you, I'd be training!"  
  
"Well, if it wasn't for me..." she stopped and looked around. "You'd be training," she said with a nod. "Sorry..."  
  
"It's alright, it's been a while since I've traveled with a companion anyway."  
  
"Well...it's not exactly traveling, but it's not staying on the glacier, either! ...Nanashi-San would you—"  
  
Without letting her finish, Nanashi threw her a water skin. "No," she said with a smile.  
  
Shouka smiled. "What will happen if Hiei-San loses?" she asked as she opened the canteen  
  
"Actually, it depends on what mood I'm in. It could be a fight to the death. I don't know." She stretched back and leaned against the volcano. "What do sunsets look like on the glaciers?"  
  
Shouka laughed. "Very out-of-place."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Think about it. Snow and ice as far as the eye can see and a warm, welcoming sky? At least when the blizzards aren't too bad." She gave a start when she saw her friend looking off, distracted. "You're not listening."  
  
"I'm listening. Ice and Fire don't mix, so it's only natural glaciers and sunsets wouldn't either."  
  
"You don't like me, do you?"  
  
"If I didn't like you, you'd probably be a lonely corpse in a ditch somewhere. Just stay on my good side and you'll be okay."  
  
"I've just noticed something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Our personalities are very ironic. As far as Fire youkai and Ice youkai go."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Think about it. Compared to each other, Ice youkai have warm personalities, and Fire youkai have cold demeanors, once you get to know either of them," Shouka said, finally taking a long gulp of the canteen.  
  
"Alright!!" Yusuke shouted, throwing fists into the air. "Sunset! We're almost there!!"  
  
Kurama slowly blinked. "Hiei, what's the name of the volcano you're going to fight on?"  
  
"Kaze-Yama."  
  
"Mount Wind? Isn't that a bit ironic?"  
  
"Come on, Kurama, you should know after all this time not to question ironies," Yusuke said with a laugh.  
  
"Besides, what do you think fire feeds on?" Hiei asked.  
  
"Oh, true, fire does build on air. Hm...Yusuke, do you have any water left? I think all this sun IS getting to me..."  
  
"Ah hah!" Hitsujiko exclaimed. "I think I see him!"  
  
"So YOU'RE the drag queen," Hiei's voice said as he materialized in front of the two fire youkai and the ice youkai.  
  
"...Yes...I see him..." He blinked and looked around. "Where is the rest of your company?"  
  
"I told them they could come as far as the battlefield."  
  
"Welcome home," Nanashi said with a quirked eyebrow. "What took you so long?"  
  
"Too many and too merry."  
  
"Hiei! Wait up!!" Yusuke shouted, running up to everyone else with Kurama. The boy started laughing. "Hiei, you were right, he is a drag queen!"  
  
Hitsujiko glared. "I am Hitsujiko, coroner and fight manager for Kaze-Yama. You can choose who you'd like to be the moderator of your fight. Once the fight starts, the only rule is don't destroy the mountain." He looked around. "Take your positions."  
  
(AN: Okay, next chapter is the fight! Woo! So, to explain something, I have my muse, unspoiled rini (as is her penname), or Sierra- Chan.  
  
Moshi moshi!!  
  
Sierra-Chan helped me think of a REAL name for Nanashi.  
  
Aw...you named her after Trowa...  
  
I DIDN'T NAME HER AFTER THAT STUPID CLOWN!!  
  
Oh, tee hee...so, how are we going to explain what Nanashi's name means?  
  
I guess reenact the phone conversation?  
  
Sounds good to me!  
  
Okay. ~*Ahem*~ Sierra-Chan, I need help with my Hiei fic.  
  
Sure, watcha need help with?  
  
I need to think of a name for Nanashi. You know, her REAL name.  
  
Uh-huh...  
  
I need something ironic.  
  
Something to do with water or ice, then.  
  
That narrows it down to the four words in Japanese I know for that which is the word for water, rain, snow, or ice.  
  
The word for snow.  
  
I'm not naming her Yuki.  
  
Oh, understood. Then the word for !@#$!@  
  
Oh, okay... That's the end.  
  
You're still not giving the real name, are you?  
  
Nope, only my muses...human muses know.  
  
Ooo...evil....  
  
Tee hee...try and guess at least what the name means. AND IT'S NOT YUKI.  
  
I know, I know...why not, though.  
  
Half your bishies are named Yuki.  
  
Hee hee...) 


	6. Leaving in One Piece

Leaving in One Piece  
  
(AN: So Horo-Kun's your muse now, eh?  
  
What took you so long?! Kami-Sama! I'm not that hard to get a hold of!  
  
Um...that link you sent me...I'll look at it when I have time, kay?  
  
So, a fire demon fight, ne? Awesome! How's it gonna turn out?!  
  
Kami-Sama! Could you people wait until the end of the chapter for once?!  
  
Heh, Sorry, Avia-Chan...  
  
It's okay, I'm trying to get into a violent mood for the battle and you're the closest person to vent on...sorry Horo-Kun.  
  
Eh, 'sokay...  
  
You get to ask an important question of the readers this chapter!  
  
I guess just read off this stupid piece of paper, ne?  
  
Yup, that's it.  
  
After you read this chapter, should...hee...Bob-Chan...continue the fic with new plot lines, do a sequel, or just leave it there? Your choice.  
  
What are YOU doing here, human? I do the first author's note! This fic is about me, no matter how stupid it is...  
  
Hiei?! Oh...boy...  
  
Get out of here!  
  
I don't know how...Avia! Where'd you go?! Avia!! Help!!  
  
Hee hee...clash of the bishi muses....)  
  
(ANPS: hai, I have a friend named Sierra. Actually, if you were to spell Sierra a different way, it would be wrong, seeing as it's the Spanish word for "Mountain range" Personally, I think it's pretty...but...hey, I'm in two Latin-based languages as it is, it could just be that I'm partial...say, V-Chan, if you're interested, I have a furuba rpg that really needs help...there are four members, but only three posters. Um...I hope you join...I have to go write this chapter...)  
  
(ANBTW: no one guessed...Bunni-Chan tried to...at least I think she did...Anyways, if you were wondering about my own name, yes, I go by Bobbie. Which means, my real name is Roberta. I was named after my grandmother...who was named after her grandfather...who was named after Robert E. Lee. Thus giving you my middle name. Lee. Weird, I know, but hey, I live for weirdness)  
  
"Oh! Forgive me, I forgot to announce who the moderator was..." Hitsujiko said, looking from Kurama to Shouka.  
  
Kurama stepped forward with a smile.  
  
"I guess that means we're the cheerleaders...uh..." Yusuke said to Shouka, waiting for a name.  
  
"Shouka."  
  
"Okay!" the human said, taking a hold of Shouka's arm, leading her off the volcano.  
  
Hitsujiko sighed as Nanashi finished putting her braids into a bun so it wouldn't get in the way. "The moderator has the power to call a break for the fight. He also has the power to say who won. But only the fighters have the power to say when the fight is done. Good luck to you both...Fighters take your positions!" He looked from Hiei to Nanashi and back again. "forget the rule about sparing the mountain, too!"  
  
Hiei took out his katana and Nanashi dug out a scimitar.  
  
"Kitsune-San, you take it from here," Hitsujiko said, walking off.  
  
Kurama smiled and took a few steps to the side. "Whenever you're ready." He shook his head as the two fire youkai started the fight off at top speed...as usual. This was just like Hiei. Start the fight off with the weakest thing you have, then finish it with a bang. He sighed. Now if only they could slow down a bit so he could at least see what the heck they were doing...  
  
Shouka looked up at the fight only to see a black and red blur. "I can't see anything..." she remarked with a sweat-drop. Yusuke, however, didn't seem to have that problem.  
  
"Ooh! Ouch! Come on, Hiei, you can do better than that! Yes! Get her!! Come on!! You've got her on the run!!"  
  
"You can see them?"  
  
Yusuke looked around nervously. "Every now and then..." He laughed. "Only to see a blood spatter or two."  
  
'Before I turn this up a notch...' Hiei's voice rang through Nanashi's head.  
  
'You think YOU'RE going to turn this up a notch?! Why not two?'  
  
'Have you figured out why I carry the tear gem around?'  
  
'You mean the bait?' she asked, dodging his sword, leaping over his head, and striking at his head.  
  
'Exactly. Do you even care?' he threw back, dodging her attack and darting behind his opponent, hoping the element of surprise was still with him.  
  
'No, it's just something to egg you on,' she answered, blocking his attack, boosting up energy and concentrating it to her weapon. "Join in, won't you?"  
  
"That's weird," Yusuke said from the ground.  
  
"What?" Shouka asked, looking up at him.  
  
"Hiei's usually the first to throw an attack like that. That girl's psycho!"  
  
"Trust me...I know..."  
  
"What's she like when she's not trying to pound the crud out of someone?"  
  
"Just as weird..."  
  
Hiei laughed and added his own energy to his own weapon.  
  
Kurama blinked as Hiei and Nanashi started fighting again. Was it his imagination, or...were they moving faster?  
  
Hiei jumped into the air to avoid an attack to the stomach and went with the dodge to go to her neck, but while his was going down, Nanashi threw a fireball from her free hand at his stomach  
  
"Ooo..." Yusuke remarked as Hiei went crashing to the ground.  
  
Nanashi looked over her shoulder as Hiei got up. She quirked an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Trust me...that won't happen again!" he growled as he felt black flames encircle his right arm.  
  
His opponent growled and started her own attack.  
  
'I wonder what they're playing at now...' Kurama thought. "Oh...I guess I should get off the volcano, then!" he said with a laugh as black lightning began to crackle in the sky.  
  
"What are they doing now?" Shouka asked as the crowd around her and Yusuke began to murmur.  
  
The human turned his head to Hitsujiko and Kurama joining them.  
  
"So the moderator ditched the fight?" the fire youkai asked.  
  
"This is the finishing blow, Hitsujiko-San," Kurama said with a smile.  
  
"It's the what?!" Shouka demanded.  
  
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Kurama!" Yusuke said with a laugh, pointing to the top of the mountain.  
  
"Talk about smack-you-in-the-face symbolism!" Hitsujiko said with a laugh as two Dragons fought at the top of the mountain.  
  
When the fight escalated to the use of the ultimate attack, of course, it attracted half the desert...It also attracted...the volcano.  
  
"The volcano's erupting!!" Shouka screamed.  
  
"Don't worry, Shouka-San," Hitsujiko reassured her with a smile. "I have a force field set up so the lava and debris won't reach the crowd and...Kitsune-San, I'm sure you can explain the other part."  
  
Kurama nodded. "Hiei and Nanashi's powers are so high, they've created a force field around themselves in a way."  
  
"That's not what I mean...I usually have a kourime to help me out when the volcano erupts in the middle of a battle. That's why you only see the rock stop half way down the mountain...Shouka-San, would you do the honors?"  
  
Now the crowd had view of the two dragons coming in and out of the lava. A kourime was taking care of the oncoming lava, all the while giving the crowd a nice breeze.  
  
The crowd of onlookers stood silent as the left side of the volcano deteriorated into ash.  
  
"Which side was Hiei on?" Yusuke asked as the eruption slowly came to a stop.  
  
"I don't know, but whoever is down is the one the moderator says lost!" Kurama answered, running into the wreckage, gracefully leaping off  
  
'What happened?' Hiei wondered as he fought his way through hot debris, finally finding the surface. He and Nanashi were sword-fighting again after each had summoned their dragon and the volcano decided to erupt again. But the dragons were just for show.  
  
He filled his lungs with air as the last of the debris fell away. He looked around, trying to find his opponent, but no avail. He climbed the rest of the way out and noticed how worn out and battered he was. It didn't matter, though.  
  
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to find your way out, Hiei," Nanashi's voice said as she appeared in front of him. She crossed her arms and looked down on him. He looked at her in disgust. The only injuries he could see were the ones he had given her during the sword fight.  
  
She won. She still had what he wanted and he wasn't worthy in her eyes. Who cared?  
  
They held each other's glares until Nanashi reached into her pocket and tossed him something. The tear gem? He had lost, she didn't have to pity him.  
  
"You mistake respect for pity," she said coldly.  
  
"Who cares?" he snapped, getting up to walk away.  
  
"Kouri."  
  
"What?" he asked as he stopped in mid-step. "You want some ice after your high-and-mighty defeat of your pesky brethren?"  
  
"That's my name."  
  
Hiei slowly turned around after reattaching the tear gem to its chord and gave "Kouri" a very dirty look. (AN: no ecchi thoughts!!). After glaring at her for a few moments, he suddenly burst out into laughter.  
  
Kurama, Yusuke, and Shouka were pretty out of breath once they had finally gotten over all the debris and half-dried lava. They had a lock on Hiei and Nanashi's energies, and had finally found where they were when they heard...laughter?  
  
They finally found the two fighters standing in the middle of the rubble, Hiei looked a lot more battered than Nanashi, but he was the one laughing...and, of course, Nanashi looked smugly happy herself.  
  
Suddenly, a seal with a sheep's head appeared next to the small group of onlookers and Hitsujiko glided out. (AN : yes, his name means "little sheep") "Well, Kitsune-San..." said the coroner, waving a fan in his face. "Which does the moderator say has won?"  
  
Kurama looked from one Fire youkai to the two others in standing in the middle of the wasteland. He let out small chuckle. "Frankly, who cares?"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
AN: weird...it's like...romance but...not?  
  
I know but...it's Hiei, after all. You're Horohoro, right?  
  
Yeah, and you're the...guy with the gun...coming out of your finger? Never quite got that....  
  
Eh, neither did I, but you get used to it...  
  
Well, readers, what did you think?  
  
Continue in another story, continue in the same story, or just stop?  
  
You'd better vote, too, because her muse, Vera-Sama, has already voted, and her votes count as two. 


	7. Embodiments

Embodiment

(AN: yay! People actually paid attention to me and voted...on reviews no less.

Not on ...

Yeah, but only one person's technically reviewed there...

Don't you have poles to announce?

Ah, yes! So far, I've got three votes for go on in the same story and one vote for a sequel where Kouri and Shouka become spirit detectives...

If you don't mind, I'd rather stay on Makai...

Not sure of the location but we'll still have a story...

A story about...?

You'll see...

You have that strange look on your face again...

Let's just say this one OC I've been playing around with on rpg's would be perfect.

Oh, brother...

No, he's not your brother...

Just get on with the next chapter...)

Hitsujiko wiped sweat from his brow as he looked around again for anymore crowd members that may have gotten caught up in the two explosions. As far as he could tell, all those chickens at the front row had gotten away...

He sighed and put his pen behind his ear. 'Time to get back to the desk,' he thought as he started to walk off but stopped suddenly when he saw what appeared to be a...hand coming out of the ground...?

The Fight Moderator for Kaze-Yama had a sinking feeling but bent down to see if the unfortunate was alright. He poked the hand with his pen, but his eyes went from curiosity to shock as the hand grabbed the pen and evaporated it completely with energy in the form of black flames.

The hand shook a little bit apparently to get the remaining debris away as Hitsujiko backed up.

His eyes widened in horror as an extremely powerful demon rose from the ashes. On second thought, it didn't even seem like a demon, it felt much to powerful for that...

The being shook a head full of short, spiky black hair and opened solid yellow eyes. He quirked a pierced eye brow at Hitsujiko and looked down at his own form, then back at Hitsujiko. "I'm free," it declared, curling back a pierced lip. "And you'll help me get back at the ones that last summoned me..."

(AN: just if you're wondering, why with the piercings? Well, he has one on his eyebrow, one on his bottom lip, if you haven't noticed and some all down his ears. I was going for gothic punk here, trust me, I haven't even touched on describing his clothes yet...)

A few hours later, in Rekai Koenma as fussing in his overly-large chair. "As soon as Hiei gets here, we can finally get to the point of this meeting..." he practically.

"Why is he always late?!" Botan fussed. "I swear! Every time we need the whole team here he vanishes!!" she ranted, freezing after turning around to face a window. "Ah...who-who...is this...?"

Yusuke turned around to see what Botan was so freaked over. "That's Kouri...what's the problem?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

Kouri nodded her head in acknowledgement as she climbed out of her seal followed by Hiei and Shouka. "Sorry we're late," she said with a slight bow to Botan.

"Finally!" Koenma exclaimed as the seal disappeared.

"Where's the diseased amoeba?" Hiei asked, looking among the ranks.

"Kuwabara's retired apparently," Kurama explained with a nervous smile.

"That doesn't matter!" the small replacement overlord went on. "We have a replacement and a kourime! Right now we have to worry about this!!" he finished, pointing to the screen.

An off-shot of a spiky-haired youkai appeared on the screen. His solid yellow eyes leaned into the screen as his leather-strapped arms went into pockets of black cargo pants.

"Interesting piercing jobs..." Botan said, rubbing her eyebrows, glad she hadn't done that.

"What's with the fish-net shirt?" Yusuke asked in confusion.

"I believe we're missing the point..." Kurama said with a laugh.

"That's not the whole problem either!" Koenma continued, pressing another button showing a small entourage of youkai. Two female two male. "Research shows from the energy radiating from this youkai and his friends that they aren't exactly demons..."

"Explanation?" Yusuke asked.

"Our researchers believe that these aren't demons, but the embodiments of certain attacks," Botan explained.

"Attacks?" Hiei repeated.

"We believe that this group of youkai are, in fact, the embodiments of the Dragon of Darkness Flame, and the smaller youkai are the Fists and Swords of the Darkness and Mortal Flames," Botan finished.

Hiei and Kouri exchanged slight glances.

"I knew you two had something to do with it!" Koenma exploded.

Hiei scoffed. "It's not like a fighter has COMPLETE control over the Dragon..."

"We were only fighting. That's not a crime, is it? This whole thing is just an accident," Kouri added.

"That's one freaky accident..." Shouka said as the screen zoomed in once again on the dragon. This time, though, the youkai was moving and speaking.

"Hello, Rekai," he said with a smirk that extended to his pointed ears. "My name is Kuroryu. But you can just call me Kuro. I'm here to challenge the youkai Hiei Jaganshi to a show-down," he explained smugly.

"That was specific..." Yusuke said sarcastically.

"And to help our friend find me..." Kuroryu continued dragging Hitsujiko by his hair into the screen. "I'll send a guide."

With that, he snapped the Fight Moderator's neck, automatically sending the man's spirit to Koenma's office. "Hello..." the ghost said rather dispiritedly as Kuro's face disappeared from Koenma's screen.

(AN: another chapter, another plot, another season, another semester, another essay to worry about

Oh, shut up, already.

Hey, you're not a first-time freshman in college!

Shut it

Okay.

So, what do you think of Kuro-kun? Cute, huh?

Gotta love the sarcasm

Oh, yes. Say, Hiei, why do you think I think better when I'm sick?

Because you're crazy?

Uh...thanks. Oh, here's some translations you asked for

TRANSLATIONS JAPANESE/ENGLISH

Ningen: human

Youkai: demon

Jagan: uh...Shonen Jump translates it at Hiei's Evil Eye...I'm not sure what it means, it I've always gone with Jagan. Besides, that's most of Hiei's last name, right? Hiei Jaganshi

Reiki: spirit energy

Kisama: as you may have already figured, bastard (although, in this case, it's used as an insult, and then not...look at some of Shakespeare's villains...)

Kanji: Japanese characters based on the pretty, complicated Chinese characters

Makai: literally translated as "Evil World" but it's where the youkai live

Ningenkai: Human World

Rekai: Spirit World

Kitsune: fox demon

Gomen ne: sorry...

Onii-san: brother

Kami-sama...: Oh, gosh...

Baka: idiot, stupid, etc...

Hai: yes, yes ma'am, yes sir (it's just a formal way of saying yes)

Kaze-Yama: Wind Mountain or Mount Wind (kinda like Fuji-Yama)


End file.
